SOAS Honorary Fellow Professor Nasser David Khalili PhD, KCSS, KCFO lectured on the Art of Collecting at SOAS University of London. Professor Khalili is a world renowned scholar, collector, benefactor...

“I wish to thank one of our most dynamic UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors, Professor Nasser D Khalili, for his passion and unfailing commitment to the values of heritage. He has spent considerable time and effort safeguarding Islamic heritage and is now the custodian of the largest group of objects related to the Holy City of Makkah.”

Comments & Reviews

“

“Our role is to promote the common good in society and solidarity among the peoples. In our troubled times, interfaith harmony and cooperation couldn’t be more important, which is why Professor Nasser D Khalili, the famous Jewish collector, scholar and preserver of Islamic art and culture, was honoured with papal knighthoods from Popes St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI for his work in the pursuit of peace, education and culture amongst nations.”

“Professor Nasser D. Khalili is not only a prominent art collector of international standing but also an outstanding scholar and benefactor, incidentally custodian of the greatest collection of objects related to Makkah and the Hajj. He has also been championing interfaith dialogue between the Abrahamic faiths for decades.”

Baroness Valerie Amos, Director of SOAS, University of London Holy Makkah, A Celebration of Unity (First, 2017)

“

“The Khalili collection of Meiji are of Japan is only comparable as acknowledge by many scholars and museum directors, in terms of quality and size to the collection of the Japanese Imperial family.”

Dr. Helena Gagarina, General Director Moscow Kremlin Museums. Extract from the forward of the catalogue, Beyond Imagination Treasures of Imperial Japan from the Khalili Collection 19th to Early 20th centuries, July 2017

“

“It would be impossible to create such a collection today, even with the ultimate time and funds.”

“The Khalili collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage (700–2000) ranks in importance alongside the collections of the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul, and includes major objects, many of which are unique and irreplaceable and have no parallel in any other collection, private or public.”

Edward Gibbs, Chairman, Sotheby’s Middle East and India, July 2014

“

“He’s an unparalleled Art Collector.”

Ernest Veen, Director of De Nieuwe Kerk and Hermitage Amsterdam, December 2010